Table of Contents

About the authors; Foreword George Gerbner; Acknowledgements; Dramatis Personae: biographical sketches of participants in the Payne Fund studies; Introduction: the Payne Fund studies and their continuing significance for communications research; Part I. History of the Payne Fund Studies: 1. Social science as a weapon: the origins of the Payne Fund studies, 1926–9; 2. Movie made social science: the enterprise of the Payne Fund studies researchers, 1928–33; 3. Aftermath: the summaries and reception of the Payne Fund studies; Part II. The Unpublished Payne Fund Material: 4. The lost manuscript; 5. The Intervale study; 6. Student movie autobiographies and 'movies and sex'; Appendices; Notes; Bibliography; Index of names; Index of subjects.

Promotional Information

An analysis of the first and most comprehensive study of the influence of movies on American youth, the Payne Fund Studies.

Reviews

'A thoroughly worthwhile and instructive re-appraisal of the Payne Fund Studies and their legacy.' Graham McCann, Times Literary Supplement